More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
There’s nothing children enjoy more than having fun with mum and dad. In the latest in our series of Top 10s, we pick the best family days out.
Diggerland, Strood
A day out with a difference. Indulge in some modern family fun by driving and racing real JCBs at Diggerland, just a few minutes off the M2. Diggerland guarantees an action-packed day out for children and adults. There’s the opportunity to ride in, and drive, different types of machinery including dumper trucks and giant diggers (all under strict supervision). Open daily over the Easter holidays.
Dover Castle
A visit to Dover Castle covers 2,000 years of history and includes the newly developed The Great Tower, a Roman Lighthouse and a Saxon church. Enjoy a Hidden Dover Castle tour or enter the Secret Wartime Tunnels deep beneath the famous White Cliffs. Time Travellers Go... Through the Ages is running until Easter Monday. Travel back in time to discover the tricks of the trade of characters of the past such as gladiators or fearless knights. Children can take part in plays, learn circus skills and have a go at junior jousting. This is just one of a series of Time Travellers Go events.
www.english-heritage.org.uk/dovercastle
Go Ape
Bring out your inner ape at two venues in Kent – Leeds Castle or Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest. Climb up a rope ladder, high into the trees, Tarzan-swing into a giant rope net, crawl through tunnels, tackle high-wire rope bridges, then zip-wire back to earth – just some of the really invigorating family fun to be had at Go Ape. Age and size restrictions apply.
Hop Farm Family Park, near Paddock Wood
An award-winning family park with more than 30 rides and attractions to enjoy, including a treasure trove of swashbuckling adventures in the new Pirate Cove. Help Captain Fluff find her lost treasure by following the clues, venture into the realms of a 40ft galleon ship, or pan for gold. As part of their Easter programme there are also additional events until Easter Monday.
Howletts Wild Animal Park, near Canterbury
A family day out where education, conservation and fun combine. Set in more than 100 acres of beautiful ancient parkland, Howletts is home to some of the world’s most rare and endangered animals, including the biggest captive group of Western Lowland gorillas in the world, tigers, snow leopards, Iberian wolves and black rhino. With the new Howletts Passport you can enjoy the park all year for the price of just one standard entry ticket.
Kent Life, Maidstone
Visit the last hand-picked hop garden and see the last working coal-fired oast house in the country. Step back 150 years and learn about country life in the past through a collection of historic rural buildings, farming traditions and craft demonstrations. Kent Life has a working farmyard with an award-winning Young Farmer’s Club plus lots of new developments for the family to discover, such as the outdoor adventure play area and indoor Play Barn, a hands-on cuddle corner and plenty of new animals.
Kent and East Sussex Railway
This is the country’s finest example of a rural light railway and a great family treat. Sit back and enjoy the 10.5 mile ride from pretty Tenterden, through the unspoilt countryside of the Rother Valley to the National Trust castle at Bodiam. Whether you are interested in heritage, shopping, nature, food and drink, or recreation, there is something for all the family to enjoy.
Shell Grotto, Margate
Linda Waters got in touch through www.mykent.co.uk and said: “The grotto is one of the world’s most mysterious places, a series of underground rooms and passageways covered by 2,000 sq ft of exquisite shell mosaic. Discovered in 1835, nobody knows who created it, although many believe it is a 2,000-year-old temple with ancient origins. Consisting of underground tunnels in Margate, with shells completely covering the walls in various patterns and mosaics, no one knows who, why or when it was built.”
The Historic Dockyard Chatham
This is a unique, maritime heritage destination with a fantastic range of attractions, iconic buildings and historic ships for the family to explore, plus a fabulous programme of touring exhibitions at No.1 Smithery. Get the children involved in making their very own rope on the Victorian ropery tour; be gripped by stories of life aboard the three historic warships and be absorbed by the sights, sounds and smells of the dockyard. There is also a host of additional events throughout the year to enjoy.
Wingham Wildlife Park
Visitors to this popular attraction can expect to receive a warm welcome from all the animals, plus a unique hands-on experience feeding the various species of free-roaming birds such as peacocks, ducks, geese, chickens, bantams and pheasants. There are educational animal-encounter talks where you get to meet and handle a selection of reptiles and spiders and meet some of the babies, hand-reared by staff. Walk through enclosures including deer, wallabies, prairie dogs and ring-tailed lemurs.
